crisis of political leadership

Question 1

what was watergate?

Answer 1

CREEP - comittee to re-elect hte president in order to gain an electoral advantage in Nixon’s 1972 campaign orchestrated the break in and theft of information from the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate building

Question 2

how did Nixon obstruct justice?

Answer 2

• floated the idea of using the CIA to prevent an FBI investigation into the breakin
• when the CIA refused he attempted to bribe the burgulars to stay quiet

Question 3

what were the three main areas of significance that resulted from Watergare

impact on the presidency

Answer 3

• 1 - Nixon’s moderate republicanism was denounced by his actions allowing more extreme righ-winger to rise (eg. Ronald Reagan)
• 2 - congress passed two laws restricting the powers of the president:
• War Power Act 1973, (limits the power to take the country to war) and
• Ethics in Government Act 1978, (made it easier to investigate presidential wrong-doings)
• 3 - destruction of the “imperial Presidency” - Ford and Carter had to limit their outward powers due to negative public reactions to Nixon’s authoritarian presidency.

Question 5

what did Carter and Ford do to distance themselves from Nixon’s style of presidency?

how well di this work to defned agaisnt media criticism?

Answer 5

rejected formality
ford
* self-depricating joke - “ford not a lincon”
* desperate to be seen as a regualr guy
* presented a “relatable American family” to the media

carter
* sold presidential yacht
* often wore casual clothes

Not very well. both still hounded by media criticism

Question 6

why was Ford criticised by the media?

Answer 6

• pardoned Nixon - there could be no more proceedings and charges brought against him regarding watergate
  many Americans believed Nixon should have faced trail alongside the burgulars
• was not elected by the people (was vice president)
• seen as incompetant - indecisve leadership partoicularly in regards to economy (switched position on taxation)

Question 7

what was Ford’s position on taxation that he back tracked on?

Answer 7

Whip Infaltion Now
* proposed increased tax on corporations and wealthy
* encouraged people not to spend so much on consumer products

failed because the economy didnt improve so was forced to introduce tax cuts in 1975

Question 8

how was Carter criticised by the media?

Answer 8

• micromanagement
• inability to establish workable realtionships woth congress - poor relationship with Democratic Congress
• seen as controlled by his wife “mrs President”
• 1977 only 18% of people had alot of confidence in him as a president and he had the lowest approval rating ever.